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2006 Triumph Thruxton

Monday, 21 August 2006

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I visited an AHRMA fast guy, and fellow Brit, Pat Mooney, and asked him for some go-faster hints and advice on the track layout. Pat proceeded to give me some valuable info on the hot lines and gave me a couple of lurid crash tales, just to keep me honest, and sent me on my way. On his recommendation I pestered tech and bagged (begged) an extra practice session to compliment my sole morning one, before my debut race. Typically for AHRMA, they obliged - they really are a super organization.

The first practice saw me wobbling around on a dry track, trying to make some sense of the jigsaw of concrete and asphalt that is Mid-O. The contradictory advice that I seemed to be receiving from various sources confirmed that A, the concrete was grippy, ignore them, to B, they are very slippery, watch out for them. I had a couple of “moments” on the transition between the two surfaces, but mostly I felt OK, with the bike handling pretty decently for its size and weight. I clearly wouldn’t be dragging any elbows this early though, even if I did recognize that infamous corner.

Second practice was a wet one, I’d been secretly hoping for rain and boy, did I get what I deserved. Being from England, I was brought up on the stuff, breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. I seriously felt that what I lacked in track knowledge, I could make up with some mad wet Brit style. I didn’t, however, account for the concrete racing surface, to say it was a little unnerving, wins my understatement of the decade ward. It was ‘orrible and scary too (sniff) even moderate amounts of throttle greeted me with a sideways momentum rather than forward. I did however, pass a few people in practice, so I felt a little better.

As race time came closer, so did the sun, the track was almost 100% dry, and I’d had time to sit quietly and mentally break down the track, feeling I’d worked out a couple of options for faster times. About two minutes before we grid, the heavens opened. All optimism faded with that sun, could I or couldn’t I? We’d soon see. Having no tire warmers, I did a fast-as-I-dare first lap in the hope of getting some heat into the tires - I slipped a couple of times, but was reasonably happy.

I took my position on the last row of the grid, predetermined, by the way, not based on lap times (although I probably would have been in the same place) but by late registration. My race strategy reasoning was that I could only move forward - I really didn’t want to finish last.

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